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Kilgore, Texas
Kilgore is a city in Gregg County, Texas. The population of the city is 12,975. Demographics As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is: 61.80% White (8,018) 20.29% Hispanic or Latino (2,633) 14.96% Black or African American (1,941) 2.95% Other (383) 12.6% (1,634) of Kilgore residents live below the poverty line. Theft rate statistics Kilgore has average rates of Pokemon theft and murder. The city reported 8 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 1.77 murders a year. Pokemon See the Gregg County page for more info. Fun facts * Kilgore was the childhood residence from age six of the noted classical pianist Van Cliburn, the namesake for Van Cliburn Auditorium on the Kilgore College campus. * Kilgore is home to the Texas Shakespeare Festival, an annual summer repertory company. Founded in 1986, the Texas Shakespeare Festival presents four shows in rotating repertory every summer at the Van Cliburn Auditorium on the campus of Kilgore College. * In 2001, the Kilgore College Ranger football team had a perfect season, winning the Southwest Junior College Football Conference. The 2001 squad finished #2 in the nation, losing the NJCAA national championship when the coaches poll gave the championship to Georgia Military College. * On September 23, 1983, five men and women were abducted from a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore and found slain, execution-style, in an oilfield outside of town. The crime went unsolved until November 2005, when two men, already in prison for other crimes, were charged, tried and convicted for this crime. * On December 18, 2004, the Kilgore High School "Ragin' Red" Bulldog football team completed a perfect season (16-0) after winning the Class 4A Division II state championship game, 33-27, in a double-overtime thriller against the Dallas Lincoln Tigers at Baylor University's Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco. Nick Sanders blocked a potential go-ahead field goal attempt by Lincoln and returned it for the winning touchdown. * Kilgore's fortunes changed dramatically on October 3, 1930, when wildcatter Columbus M. "Dad" Joiner struck oil near the neighboring town of Henderson. This well, known as the Daisy Bradford #3, marked the discovery of the vast East Texas Oil Field. Seemingly overnight Kilgore was transformed from a small farming town on the decline into a bustling boomtown. The Daisy Bradford #3 was subsequently followed by the Lou Della Crim No. 1 and many others. By 1936, the population had increased to more than 12,000, and Kilgore's skyline was crowded with oil derricks. Oil production continued at a breakneck pace throughout the early 1930s, with more than 1,100 producing oil wells within city limits at the height of the boom. The explosive growth left most civic services overwhelmed, and as a result Kilgore was forced to incorporate in 1931. With the city flooded with male workers and roustabouts, law enforcement struggled to keep order among the shanties, tents, and ramshackle honky-tonks that crowded Kilgore's main streets. On one occasion, they had to summon help from the Texas Rangers to keep the peace. By the mid-1930s the oil boom had begun to subside, and most of the small oil companies and wildcatters had sold out to major corporations. The boom was essentially over by 1940. But oil production has remained central to the city's economy. The population, which fluctuated wildly throughout the 1930s, stabilized at around 10,000 in the 1950s. * Kilgore has a bit of amenities to offer. The city has a Walmart, Nintendo World, dollar stores, a bit of hotels/motels, Solstice Apparel, Walgreens, a bit of local restaurants and businesses, Brookshire's, a landing strip, a sports complex, some public battle fields, East Texas Oil Center, Meadowbrook Golf & Event Center, a cinema, CVS, a few car dealerships and auto parts places, and a few other things. Category:Texas Cities